Module
Health Economics
Module description
This unit introduces you to key conceptual frameworks and principles of health economics. It examines how both the UK and international health care systems are financed and funded. The unit will examine the core theories of supply and demand in health care, including the importance of information (and information asymmetry), the critical role of insurance, hospital financing and delivery, long-term care organisation, pay-for-performance schemes, private/public mix in finance and provision of health care, and economic epidemiology.
Full module specification
| Module title: | Health Economics |
|---|---|
| Module code: | BEEM014 |
| Module level: | M |
| Academic year: | 2023/4 |
| Module lecturers: |
|
| Module credit: | 15 |
| ECTS value: | 7.5 |
| Pre-requisites: | None |
| Co-requisites: | None |
| Duration of module: |
Duration (weeks) - term 2: 11 |
Module aims
The principal method of learning is through discussion, analysis and, case study based learning approaches. This module equips you with fundamental health economics and public health knowledge, which is essential for working in the government and health related industries, such as health care providers.
ILO: Module-specific skills
- 1. demonstrate competent knowledge of the health economics and public health;
- 2. demonstrate competent knowledge of the key economic trade-offs implied in different healthcare allocation problems;
- 3. demonstrate competent knowledge of the economic reasons behind trends in health care system development;
- 4. demonstrate competent knowledge of the way different health systems address these fundamental trade-offs;
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
- 5. apply economic and statistical tools to concrete health economics issues that arise in the work place;
- 6. critically evaluate a research design used to identify the effects of a health policy;
- 7. provide policy recommendations to different types of market failure.
ILO: Personal and key skills
- 8. Demonstrate ability to give oral presentation;
- 9. Demonstrate ability to communicate verbally.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | 123 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 22 | Lectures (2 hours per week) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 5 | Tutorials |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial Questions | 1 hour per fortnight | 1-9 | Verbal |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 0 | 40 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Presentation | 40 | 40 minutes | 1-9 | Comments after presentation |
| Essay | 50 | 2000 words | 1-7 | Comments in paper |
| Class Participation | 10 | Ongoing | 1-9 | Class attendance and discussion |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual presentation | Recorded individual presentation (40 minutes) (40%) | 1-9 | August Reassessment Period |
| Essay | Essay (2000 words) (50%) | 1-7 | August Reassessment Period |
| Class Participation | Reflection of engagement in the module (700 words) (10%) | 1-9 | August Reassessment Period |
Syllabus plan
- Essential microeconomics toolkit
- Health economics: why is it relevant? What is so special about health?
- Demand for health care
- Demand for health: the Grossman model
- Socioeconomic disparities in health
- Population aging and its impact on health care cost
- The labour market for physicians
- The hospital industry
- Economic epidemiology
- Healthy lifestyle: obesity and its consequences
- Cost and cost-effectiveness analysis
- Cost-benefit analysis
- Health insurance markets
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic reading:
Peter Zweifel, Friedrich Breyer. and Mathias Kifmann, Health Economics, 2nd ed Springer
Frank A. Sloan and Chee-Ruey Hsieh, Health Economics, The MIT Press
Jay Bhattacharya, Timothy Hyde and Peter Tu, Health Economics. Palgrave Macmillan
Jan Abel Olsen, Principles in Health Economics and Policy, Oxford University Press
Module has an active ELE page?
Yes
Origin date
08/09/2016
Last revision date
07/07/2022